Informational Text Features

A few of my groups have been learning about informational text and the features they might find in these books.  Some were having a bit of difficulty learning and remembering the differences between informational text and literature until we color coded our charts.  Click here to read about that.

We first learned about the text features authors use to help us comprehend what we are reading by using big books.  Then I used printable books from Reading A-Z and students drew out informational text labels.  They were each responsible for finding the text features they drew out.  Because the Reading A-Z books are printable, they can be cut apart.  Love that!  Certainly can't do that with regular books.  :)  

So students found examples of the text features, cut them out, and they were glued down on large paper.  Students also had to explain what each text feature was and how it helped the reader.

By first learning together with big books, then moving on to finding examples in books, students were able to gain a better understanding of what these text features were and how they were used.

Now the students are reading informational books and know how to use the text features and why the author included them.  Hopefully these activities boost their comprehension!